


Characters

by Avrina



Series: Tales from the Eastern Kingdoms [9]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Character Study
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-28
Updated: 2020-10-22
Packaged: 2021-03-02 19:14:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 7,866
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24421858
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Avrina/pseuds/Avrina
Summary: Definitly a work in progress!This shall be a little biography for the main characters in the Eastern Kingdoms... Best to read after finishing "The Witches of Darkmoore".
Series: Tales from the Eastern Kingdoms [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1630612
Kudos: 2





	1. Sam

**name:**  
Samson Alexander Frederick Appleberry

 **date of birth:**  
18th of End-Month (December)

 **titles:  
** first: Prince of Whitehill; Crownprince of Whitehill; Lord of Mirtillo, Grasshill and Whitecreek; Master of the apple orchards, Knight of Whitehill  
later: Dragon Knight of Darkmoore; Honor Guard of the Blackwood family  
even later: King of Darkmoore; Regent/King of Whitehill ("Samson the Golden")

 **family:  
** Gerald and Sylvia (parents)  
Sarah-Jane, Ginevra, Gordon (siblings); at least four illegitimate half-siblings  
Gregor and Josephine (Appleberry-grandparents); Steven and Victoria (Redthorne-grandparents)  
Grace and Dominic (aunt, uncle); Victor and Lucille (uncle, aunt)  
Gloria, David, Dorothy; Lucius, Victor (cousins)  
Trent, Gavin (brothers-in-law)  
  
later: Romy (wife)  
Valerie, Richard, Matthew, Samson, Roseanne (children)  
Garett, Jonathan, Emily, Emmett, Marida, Sylvia (nephews and nieces)

 **trade marks:**  
scent of apples (like all Appleberrys)  
old-fashioned mindset and values

later: hairless body, sword made of dragon-bones and scales

Sam was a quiet, almost shy child, emotional (not to say whiny) and at first rather sickly.  
He was always closer to his father than his spirited mother and for a long time regarded the king and former knight as a role model. He never had a warm-hearted relationship with his rather offish and distant sister Sarah-Jane, but his bond with the somewhat wild Ginevra was all the closer. Because of the big age difference of ten years a real and extremely good relationship with Gordon developed only after Sam's return from his bridal search.  
He spent many summers or winters in Sunplains with his best friend Franz and siblings on both sides until he joined the Order of Knights.   
At the age of 14 he joined the Order of Knights as a squire, which put a first damper on his friendship with Franz, as he did not pass the qualifying exams. The split between the two occurred when they had their first sexual experiences together at 15 and Franz went too far for Sam's liking.  
Sam took his training as a knight and prince very seriously and the chivalrous virtues he initially hid behind soon became a second skin which was difficult to discard. From his earliest childhood, he was provided with stories about knights, dragons and heroic deeds, and after his accolade he rode out enthusiastically with his squire Isaac to go on the traditional bridal quest.  
  
The disillusionment followed not long after.  
After four years of unsuccessful (because too virtuous, hesitant, shy) search and six killed dragons, the path led him to Darkmoore, where he saved Princess Romy from a dragon. This, however, brought him the dubious pleasure of becoming a Ritual Knight for the growing witch and thus having to endure all kinds of magic, rituals and the like, which gave him in the end even the ability to transform into a giant golden dragon.   
During his time in Darkmoore he found Franz again, who was to be the Ritual Knight for Romy's sister Ellie. Although they spent much time together over several months, there was never a real or official reconciliation. Another knight of Ellie's was Owen, with whom Sam quickly developed a deep friendship.

Being involuntarily married to a witch princess brought further difficulties, which ended with Sam suddenly finding himself King of Darkmoore. 

From the later extremely loving relationship with Romy, five children were born. The death of his daughter Roseanne led to a breach with his sister Sarah-Jane and her husband Trent on the one hand, but also to an affair with Owen on the other hand, to prevent his own collapse under the growing pressure of being King, Crown Prince, husband and father. Sam, who had always wanted children, took his role as a father extremely seriously, although he never showed his affection excessively open. His rather strict parenting always set high standards, which only changed on the trip with Rick, Owen and Gavin. 

Despite the broken relationship with Sarah-Jane, Sam answered her call for help and - although he was preparing himself and Whitehill for his accession to the throne - set out to rescue her adopted twins who had been abducted by a dragon. He was accompanied by his son Rick, who was born a dragon-shifter, as well as Owen and Gavin, who resumed their former relationship with the approval of Gavin's wife Ginevra. 


	2. Isaac

**name:**  
Isaac Ferricstone

**date of birth:  
** 24th of Fog-Month (November)

**titles:**  
first: none  
later: Knight of Darkmoore; Knight of Whitehill

**family:**  
Thomas and Irene (parents)  
Tobias, Ingwin, Tryna (siblings)

later: Lillian (wife)  
Beatrice (daughter)

other points: superstitious, afraid of bats  
later his passive magical talent for protection spells is discovered

As the first-born son of a knight, Isaac's path was marked out. What he hadn't expected - and what didn't suit him either - was his assignment to Prince Sam to accompany him in his bridal search. After a rather difficult start, however, the two soon developed a relationship somewhere between friends and brothers.   
It was the rather superstitious Isaac who warned Sam about Darkmoore, and ended up paying the highest price for their visit there. Although he was knighted in Darkmoore, he never really acknowledged this himself, and after his accolade at Feather Springs, he only ever considered himself a Knight of Whitehill.

Although Isaac was never sure whether his crush on Romy was real or magical and could never completely shed it, he married Lillian and later adopted a girl named Catherine with her.

However, in the course of time, the physical and especially mental scars made him feel uncomfortable around Sam and Romy. He left Feather Springs with his family and never returned, but remained loyal to Romy as her knight for the rest of his life.


	3. Romy

**name:**  
Romy Blackwood

 **date of birth:**  
5th of Grass-Month (May)

 **titles:**  
first: Princess of Darkmoore  
later: Witch in service of the Great Mother; Guardian of the Sacred Grove; Daughter of Dragons; Dragon Lady  
even later: Queen of Darkmoore; Princess/Queen of Whitehill

 **family:**  
Ruby and Antonidas (parents)  
Charlotte and Jonathan (grandparents)  
Lyandra, Jocelyn, Elisabeth, Theresa, Ruben (siblings)  
Alice (aunt)  
Charlotte (cousin)  
Jonas (great-uncle)

later: Erik (brother-in-law)  
Samson (husband)  
Valerie, Richard, Matthew, Samson, Roseanne (children)

 **trade marks:**  
scent of vanilla (like all Blackwoods)  
rejection of ladylike clothing

Romy and her sister Jocelyn were very close in early childhood, which changed quickly when the magic of the two of them awakened. The difference in age to Theresa and her early death prevented a real bond between the two sisters; to the eldest Lyandra developed later a rather tutor-like relationship, which came to an abrupt end with Lyandra's murder. With the always quarrelsome Ellie, the shy Romy had a problem right from the beginning, which could never be solved. Romy also never had a real relationship with her mother Ruby, not to mention her father Antonidas, who lived most of the time as a dragon.

At the beginning of Romy's training as a witch, her grandmother assigned Jonas to her side, who initially acted more as an educator, later more as a servant.

For Romy as the third born daughter, political or economic lessons were not overly important and when her problems there got out of hand, Ruby left her free to devote herself fully to her witch training, which she did. However, this led to her losing touch with the outside world, partly due to her generally reserved nature. The first one to suffer from this was Sam, who "rescued her from a dragon" and whom she kidnapped without further ado in order to make him her Ritual Knight.   
Romy, who was in some way overburdened with a human being in her care at first, learned a lot from the prince, however, and with his help she gradually overcame even her fear of large crowds.  
The cautious and rather friendly approach of the two was soon accompanied by romantic feelings from her side. Her helplessness in this matter and jealousy soon strained the relationship of the two more than the artificial magical bond. 

After the solution of Blackwood's family problem, however, an extremely loving relationship developed from which five children were born. The inexplicable illness of her younger daughter Roseanne and her death caused Romy to doubt herself strongly as a healer witch. Even many years later she could not forgive herself for her "incapacity" and looked at her older daughter Valerie, who had as much power as clumsiness with regard to her magic, with extremely critical eyes.   
While Sam officially loved all his children equally, Romy could not help but consider Matt - who most resembled the Blackwoods on the outside - as her favourite. In her eyes, Rick as a dragon born was more Sam's son and although Sammy later revealed his witcher talent, she always lacked a closer bond to her youngest child.

Even before she and Sam had a real partnership, she made a close friendship with her siblings in law. Especially with Gordon she was always close, which repeatedly led to more or less loud rumours. 

The relationship with Ruben, her supposedly dead twin brother, was affectionate but difficult after his reappearance. Influenced by a mutual desire to protect the other and a lack of understanding of the world outside of Darkmoore on the part of Ruben, Romy sent the broken witcher to the re-strengthening witcher's fortress. His unusual but seen with benevolence bond with Sammy was later explained by his witcher talents.

Although she never had much love for her job as queen, she approached her duty with great seriousness. As a mother she was less the part of the educator, but more the loving and protective parent; she admitted to Sam at some point that as a mother she felt overwhelmed and inadequate.


	4. Owen

**name:**  
Owen Baker

 **date of birth:**  
29th of Grass-Month (May)

 **titles:**  
first: Owen the Dauntless  
later: Knight of Darkmoore; Honor Guard of the Blackwood Family; Honor Guard of the Sandmoss Family

 **family:**  
Oscar and Ronja (parents)  
Robert and Christina (uncle, aunt)  
Ronald (cousin)

 **trade marks:**  
red hair; a broad sword

As the only child in a family of bakers, Owen should have learned the same trade, but he was more interested in his uncle's mercenary life from an early age. When his aunt died in a bandit attack on the village, he decided to go out and punish the bandits when he was only eight years old. Well, as soon as his little cousin was old enough to take care of himself.  
Until then he continued to learn swordplay and all kinds of useful things from the village healer. 

He officially got his first sword at the age of 16 and a little later he joined a group of mercenaries with which he travelled the north of Threehills, Owlgrove and Rockvalley, mostly as hired protection for merchants. For some years Owen wandered around with the mercenaries, protecting traders, driving out bandits and searching for missing people. But he always paid special attention to protecting his own group, especially the not-so-young water sorceress Sophia or the herb-addicted archer Ryan.  
But the rescue mission for Prince Gavin, kidnapped by a dragon, changed everything. Not only were one half of the mercenary group killed by the dragon before Owen hunted him down, and the other half went mad while carelessly rummaging around in the dragon's partially enchanted treasures, but Owen and Gavin fell head over heels in love. The _"I'll get you home safely, Your Highness"_ turned into a long trip all across northern Threehills during which they together killed a dragon who was feasting on the cattle of a village. Finally, back in Seven Hills, Owen was given a post in the city guard and the two managed to keep their relationship a secret for quite some time.

But of course Gavin's parents found out and King George talked to Gavin until he sent Owen away with a heavy heart. Heartbroken, Owen returned to his family, only to find that his cousin had disappeared in the meantime. His search took him as far as Darkmoore, where he was lured to Balius under the promise of a better chance for search as a bodyguard for a princess. Instead of being a bodyguard he found himself as a kind of slave and substitute for a witch ritual.

Also in Princess Ellie's control was Henry, another mercenary and originally from the free lands. He and Owen had a difficult situation right from the start, based on dominance and brawling, which was only made worse by Franz, the longest serving knight, because Henry took his whims out on Franz while Owen wanted to protect the prince. When Franz's hopes of rescue were shattered, when his "knight in shining armour" himself fell into the clutches of the witches and seemed to have no thoughts of escaping, the prince from the West withdrew further and further and the cautious bonds of friendship with Owen broke. Owen and Sam, however, developed a profound friendship in a very short time, garnished with a touch of romance and welded together by Sam's promise to bring Owen back to Gavin at some point - now married to Sam's sister after all.

After Sam's leaving, Franz ultimately broke and Owen helped him with his suicide, which he never talked about afterwards - not even with Sam. One point that Owen always resented Sam-even though he never really said anything about it- was that in Owen's eyes Sam didn't try hard enough to at least give his former best friend moral support. Owen endured the punishment for his deed without complaint, and even though he couldn't kill Ellie himself in the great battle of the witch sisters, he killed Henry.

Knighted by Romy and presented as a "gift of friendship" to the court of Threehills, Owen was finally reunited with Gavin. After some initial difficulties, a cordial friendship grew between Owen and Gavin's wife Ginevra and after Gavin's parents saw how much heart and soul Owen put into the whole family, they accepted their son's extramarital relationship.   
Officially the prince's bodyguard and unofficially a squire's instructor, Owen always spent more time in the barracks or at the Dragon Academy near Seven Hills than he did fully equipped at Gavin's side.

Over the years, Owen has become a beloved uncle to Gavin's sons, as well as to the kids of Sam and Sarah-Jane. In particular, he has a close relationship with the shy Rick, who enjoys the undivided attention without expectations, and Emmett, with whom he shares his fascination for dragons. Consequently, nothing and nobody could stop him from accompanying Sam to the rescue of the twins. Moreover, his knowledge of dragons proves to be extremely helpful when Rick has some problems with his dragon form.

Years earlier, when Sam came to Owen in search of support, it was Owen who, in remembrance of the tentative approach during the time of their captivity, suggested to Sam a kind of role play as an "escape from reality". This little affair, blessed by Romy and Gavin, bonded the two of them in a whole new way; yet Owen wouldn't give up Gavin for anything in the world and is devastated when Gavin pushes the agreed-upon freedoms a little too far and neglects Owen. 


	5. Gavin

**name:**  
Gavin Eugene Sandmoss

 **date of birth:**  
31st of Sun-Month (July)

 **titles:**  
Prince of Threehills; Crown Prince of Threehills; Protector of the Divine Will in Threehills

 **family:**  
George and Belinda (parents)  
Gideon and Susanna (grandparents)  
Sander (uncle)

later: Ginevra (wife)  
Garett, Jonathan (sons)

 **trade marks:**  
first: prettiness  
in general: really bad orientation

Gavin, who strongly takes after his tiny petite mother, grew up under the rule of his imperious and quarrelsome grandfather. Gideon described the marriage he arranged for his older son as a failure and his only grandchild as effeminate and weak.   
Gavin was engaged to Ginevra at the age of six, but met her only a few times in the following years - among other reasons because Gideon and Gerald could not stand each other. His most vivid memory of his last visit to Whitehill before the wedding concerns Sam, who had just become a squire at the time. He declared Gavin, who wanted to play hide-and-seek, to be childish and said: "If you cannot handle at least one weapon, I will not let you marry my sister. If you can't protect your wife, you have no right on her." (Sam can't even remember that, by the way.) Besides his grandfather's constant nagging, this was the last straw, and Gavin put a lot of energy into archery because he just wasn't cut out to be a knight, which unconsciously still scratches a little on his pride.

He was always only superficially interested in politics and the like and only found a certain fascination in all those things when he wanted to introduce his own son to politics much later.

When his grandfather finally died, he would have liked to celebrate, but did not dare. In fact, the only comment in the family ever made in this regard was "Thank the Great Mother we got rid of him" and came from his mother.  
Being abducted by a dragon was, by his own words, the best thing that ever happened to him- because he met Owen. By the way, he deliberately hides the fact that the dragon took him for a girl and asked him to keep his hoard clean and sing for him. The following journey through his future kingdom partly opened Gavin's eyes - at least to the extent that he later realised that he could not run away from an arranged marriage. Still, it broke his heart when he had to send Owen away.

He and Ginevra tried almost desperately for a while to make their marriage work; only when they decided to leave it alone did they realize that a healthy friendship is a much better basis.   
Traumatized by the fact that Gideon put a girl into his bed without being asked, even though he wasn't mentally mature enough yet, he found it difficult to get closer to Ginevra in this respect from the very beginning.

Since Gavin never really wanted a wife and children, his relationship with his sons is ambivalent; most of the time he regards them more like little brothers.  
Although the relationship with his parents was never the best or warmest, he gets along extremely well with his father-in-law. The childhood differences with Sam are also settled; about Romy he feels - which he would never admit - intimidated. What he also would never admit is that he envies Sam a lot, although he can only shake his head at his antiquated attitudes.

In fact, his real devotion is probably only to Owen, although he has more and more little affairs as he grows older. 

Since he knows that Threehills is in good hands with his father and Garett, he sets out to accompany Sam on his rescue mission, also because he would never let Owen go alone.


	6. Gerald

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, Gerald isn't a main character at all, but he's still important and somehow I like him a lot.

**name:**  
Gerald Alexander Appleberry

 **date of birth:**  
30th of Star-Month (January)

 **titles:**  
King of Whitehill  
later: Silver Prince of Whitehill

 **family:**  
Gregor and Josephine (parents)  
Gabriel and Annabelle (grandparents); Josiah and Patricia (grandparents)  
Arthur (uncle)  
Sylvia (wife)  
Samson, Sarah-Jane, Ginevra, Gordon (children); at least four illegitimate children  
Grace (sister), Dominic (brother-in-law)  
Gloria, David, Dorothy (nieces, nephew)  
Trent, Gavin (sons-in-law)

later: Romy, Margareth (daughters-in-law)  
Valerie, Richard, Matthew, Samson, Roseanne, Garett, Jonathan, Emily, Emmett, Marida, Sylvia (grandchildren)

 **trade marks:**  
scent of apples (like all Appleberrys)  
a little scar over the right eyebrow

As a second-born child Gerald could have lived a quite relaxed life, but as the son of a king, who had also grown up as a second-born son and was suddenly confronted with the crown, he had to attend the same lessons as his older sister Grace. The calm and serious prince found even more pleasure in them than in his training as a knight - which probably only supported Grace's decision to give up her claim to the throne.

Initially happy for his sister, who married for love (albeit into the impoverished and politically absolutely insignificant house of the Southbridges), Gerald soon found that this happiness would be denied him. Whitehill's economy was going through a hard time and King Gregor sent his son to Darkmoore to court the younger princess.  
Compared to the stiff Whitehill, the extremely cheeky and cheerful Princess Ruby turned Gerald's head in no time. Just when he was struck by the bitter realization that her heart belonged to another, a nobody, he was ordered to Redriver to marry Princess Sylvia. The hot-headed neighbors were about to start a war which Whitehill was not up to in the current situation.

Sylvia really tried hard to please the handsome prince, but he didn't have much love for the chubby little blonde. He respected her, sure, and out of the life of a parent for three children a certain team spirit developed, but there was nothing to lure him further into her bed.   
What he couldn't help but notice was her political savvy. For Gerald, who after his unexpected accession to the throne found himself almost directly in a war, it could have ended much less favourable without her advice.   
Under Sylvia's influence, Gerald made decisions he would never have dared to make alone, but Whitehill blossomed in new strength.

As a king and father quite content with himself, he received the bill for his mistress (which he had since Ginevra's birth and gave birth to a girl) in the form of an infuriated wife. After the birth of another (legitimate) child, the attempt to avoid making a real scandal out of it ended with the silent and mutual realization that this marriage would never really work.

After his first-born Sam left the castle for the traditional bridal search and his daughters were married, Gerald's self-imposed restraint began to crumble. The servants never spoke about the heated discussions of the royal couple behind closed doors or the young women who visited the king, sometimes for a few weeks, sometimes for months. Governing was a duty, his mistresses his leisure and his grandchildren his joy. 

The death of his unloved wife, for which he was to some extent partly to blame because of the previous outraged argument, ensured that the image of the always composed king became a true façade. Wine and women- even the wives of other men- affected his health, and even the rarely voiced accusations on the part of Sam led to his increasing withdrawal from public life.


	7. Rick

**name:**  
Richard Alexander (Blackwood-)Appleberry

**date of birth:**  
2nd of Fog-Month (November)

**titles:**  
Prince of Whitehill

later: Crown Prince of Whitehill, Knight of Whitehill

**family:**  
Samson and Romy (parents)  
Gerald and Sylvia (grandparents); Ruby and Antonidas (grandparents)  
Valerie, Matthew, Samson, Roseanne (siblings)  
Ginevra and Gavin (aunt, uncle); Sarah-Jane and Trent (aunt, uncle); Gordon and Margareth (uncle, aunt); Ruben (uncle); Jocelyn and Erik (aunt, uncle); Lyandra, Elisabeth, Theresa (aunts)  
Garett, Jonathan, Emily, Emmett, Marida, Sylvia (cousins)

**trade marks:**   
scent of apples (like every Appleberry)  
first: a special magical amulet  
later: a small spot of golden scales where before was the amulet

The second-born child from the union of two nations showed its ability to change shape for the first time at six months. For several years Rick was under his mother's constantly renewed protective spell, until in an uncontrolled transformation shortly after the death of his little sister he almost burned down the children's playroom. Only then did he receive the protective amulet, which from then on kept his dragon in check.  
Rick was right from the start a very quiet and shy child, who taught himself how to read at the age of five and built a secret dragon hoard in the library (including treasures like a bracelet of Romy), which was not so secret at all and was, because of the hoarding of dragons, regularly checked by Sam. He only gave up this refuge when he joined the order of knights as a squire.

It took Rick until he was ten before he actually understood why both his grandfather and father were king and that he would not rule by Valerie's side. After that, however, he threw himself into learning the art of governing with growing enthusiasm, which even overshadowed the eagerness to become a heroic knight like his father.

Besides his shyness, Rick is an emotional young man who loves his siblings more than anything else. He is connected with Valerie by the fate of the future sovereign and although she is older than him, he has an urgent need to protect her. Connected to Matt by the small age difference and the shared squire training, he otherwise has few things in common with the little womanizer and recently it ends more and more often in moral principle discussions. In contrast, he sometimes envies Sammy for his childhood freedoms as the youngest, but the stolen candy reconciles him with almost everything. He looks up to his older cousin Garett, loves his "uncle" Owen - because he gives him the undivided attention his parents often don't have time for - and would like to be more like his funny uncle Gordon.

Instead of thinking about the rescue of the twins as an adventure, he takes the journey like an exam for which he doesn't feel ready.


	8. Matt

**name:**  
Matthew Hazel

 **date of birth:**  
25th of Fish-Month (April)

 **titles:**  
Prince of Threehills; Royal Diplomat

 **family:**  
Jonathan and Magdalena (parents)  
James and Olivia (grandparents)  
Joshua, Martin (brothers); a bunch of illegetimate half-siblings  
Susanna (sister-in-law)  
Oscar (uncle)

later: Ariel (wife)

 **trade marks:**  
scent of roasted hazelnuts (like every Hazel)  
amber-colored eyes  
bright voice  
left-handed

As the youngest of three brothers, after the early death of his mother, Matt's life was not exactly a bed of roses. Since King Jonathan was in addition to the government business more interested in women than his sons, Josh could harass the little brother both mentally and physically as he wanted without much consequence. Contrary to Matt's hopes, nothing improved in this respect when Josh joined the order of knights - on the contrary.  
  
Matt was nine when Josh tried out his new gift - the magic knife - on him, and for his tenth birthday his brother gave him the tally sheet on his back as a gift, which has continued ever since. He was allowed to start weapons training when he was twelve, but when his talent for the dagger quickly became apparent, Josh talked to their father until he gave in and refused to allow Matt to train as a knight - instead, he had him trained as a diplomat.  
Whatever the reason may be, in Josh's eyes, Matt posed a threat. He was denied things that his brothers got without asking, and duties were assigned that the older ones didn't have to deal with. Only when Josh received his accolade and from then on was repeatedly involved in the war, he was given periods of rest. Josh's paranoia reached its peak when Josh tried to castrate Matt the day after his own wedding; only Martin's intervention saved him.   
  
By the time Jonathan fell ill shortly after the end of the war and his womanizing was brought to an end, it was already too late to change the relationship of his sons. Josh seized power with gentle force and Matt - although already of age - was kept in the castle with pointless excuses, where he tried his best to avoid his brothers, who had become more and more psychologically threatening over time.   
Despite his education, he was not able to counteract these threats very well; the childlike fear of the older brothers was deeply rooted and the only ray of hope was his visit to the tournament in Whitehill.

Matt's magic broke its spell when he was ten. The realization of what he had done, along with his father's harsh warnings and his own - forbidden - research, resulted in fear for his own magic and nightmares. Above all, the fear that someone might see his true nature despite the seal was a constant companion when he met new people. 

In a letter to Sebastian, Matt described himself as a _'boy with cat eyes in a knight's body'_. His self-confident, partly arrogant appearance is only trained, he more or less hides behind words, and although he knows about his skills with the dagger, he has a strong aversion to armed struggle. 

Although he would never admit it openly, he is both curious and intimidated by sexual matters - probably because Josh forced him to watch several times.

It was his uncle Oscar - a knight who had taken church vows - who introduced him to religion and later advised him to become a priest. But Matt saw his duties as those of a prince and diplomat and refused. A little later Oscar died in the war and Matt spent to his honor four weeks in the monastery.


	9. Alex

**name:**  
Alexander Appleberry

 **date of birth:**  
1st of River-Month (June)

 **titles:**  
Prince of Whitehill

later: Knight of Whitehill; Crown Prince of Whitehill

 **family:**  
Steven and Arianna (parents)  
Samson and Franziska (grandparents); Alexander and Elaine (grandparents)  
Frederick (uncle)  
Samson, Sebastian (brothers), Ariel (twin sister), Christian (half-brother), Nathalie (half-sister)  
Nadira (stepmother)  
Lorelei (sister-in-law)

later: Gudrun (sister-in-law)  
Matthew (brother-in-law)

 **trade marks:**  
scent of apples (like every Appleberry)

On the night of the birth of the twins, the Blood Moon rose. As it sank, Queen Arianna died. The knowledge of this fact led many years later to the twins resuming the colours white and red of the Flameflower family, who died with their mother. Until his unexpected and unwanted rise to Crown Prince, Alex intended to take over the land and title of the Flameflowers.  
  
Alex's first memory is the discharge of Ariel's magic after they learned that "this annoying little thing" (the newborn Nathalie) would now stay forever. It meant the twins would be separated, even though they were only four years old.   
  
As wild and loud Ariel was, as calm was Alex. But whilst she found her calm bent over books, his spirits were awakened when he was allowed to train with his older brothers. Reading and writing was difficult for him from the beginning, but the handling of all weapons was easy, and joining the Order of Knights gave him almost everything he wanted. When it became clear that Ariel had healing skills, limited to only herself and her twin, this only encouraged him in his endeavours - after all, he didn't need to recover like the other squires in the infirmary.  
  
Since the royal children of Ringbay and Silvershore were the same age as the offspring of Whitehill, Alex and Ariel spent most summers on the coast with Arik and Nicholas (and in the beginning also the older brothers of the four).

Alex never had a close relationship with his father, just as little as with Sebastian, but all the better with Samson, who, like himself, was trained as a knight. Fate was shared by Christian as well, but once Alex had grasped the deeper meaning of the concept of _bastard_ , the general aversion to the wild and unpredictable troublemaker was joined by a very different kind of rejection.   
Similiar, although far less intense, was the situation with Nadira and Nathalie.   
His relationship with his twin sister, however, had always been so close that there were always rumours about its true nature. 

Although Alex doesn't consider himself to be overly religious, the teachings of the Great Mother are extremely important to him, as are the rules and traditions of the Knights, whose virtues represent a very special set of laws for him.  
From this, by the way, his greatest weaknesses can be deduced: it is difficult for him to get used to new patterns of thinking (in general, radical changes of situation are hard for him to digest) and he judges the same mistake made by different people differently. 


	10. Ariel

**name:**  
Ariel Elaine Appleberry  
  
later: Hazel

 **date of birth:**  
1st of River-Month (June)

 **titles:**  
Princess of Whitehill

 **family:**  
Steven and Arianna (parents)  
Samson and Franziska (grandparents); Alexander and Elaine (grandparents)  
Frederick (uncle)  
Samson, Sebastian (brothers), Alexander (twin brother), Christian (half-brother), Nathalie (half-sister)  
Nadira (stepmother)  
Lorelei (sister-in-law)

later: Gudrun (sister-in-law)  
Matthew (husband)

 **trade marks:**  
scent of apples (like every Appleberry)  
earth sorceress

On the night of the birth of the twins, the Blood Moon rose. As it sank, Queen Arianna died. The knowledge of this fact led many years later to the twins resuming the colours white and red of the Flameflower family, who died with their mother. Ariel always regretted that she had not been named after her mother and - as it was Alex's plan - would have liked to continue the land and the title, which she was denied as a sorceress.

Ariel's power broke through when, as a four-year-old, she was annoyed by the crying of her newborn sister. She was separated from her twin brother and taken to the Hall of Shadows, but since she could not (and didn't want to) find her place there, she spent a lot of time in the castle during the first years - under supervision, of course. It was Sebastian who taught her to read and write, and when Samson became a squire, she wished she could later switch places with Alex so she wouldn't have to live in the Hall of Shadows.   
  
Ariel was always a rather wild character, full of joie de vivre and mischief, which was further supported by the relative freedoms granted to novices. Nevertheless, she was always diligent in her studies and, like Sebastian, was able to get stuck on interesting things.

Shortly after Alex joined the Order of Knights, Ariel was sent to the Hall of Water. Suddenly separated even over a great distance, her magic developed in great strides and it became obvious how much the phenomenon of "twin magic" influenced her. Nevertheless, it remained a mystery to everyone why her healing powers could only be used on herself _and_ her twin.

Since the royal children of Ringbay and Silvershore were the same age as the offspring of Whitehill, Ariel and Alex spent most summers on the coast with Arik and Nicholas (and in the beginning also the older brothers of the four). The summer they all turned sixteen, the cautious interest between Ariel and Arik, which had existed for quite some time, developed into a true romantic relationship, which they initially kept secret. The hesitant attempt to convince Arik's father Arnold of an early betrothal, however, went very badly wrong - it was only years later, at the tournament in Whitehill, that Ariel and Arik came to an understanding and friendly reconciliation. 

Ariel's first experiences with Arik and the freedoms of the novices led to her being completely unprincesslike with men. In general, Ariel never liked her status as a princess very much and the thought of having to marry one day some guy who might not even want her because of her magic gave her a stomachache. It also led to the defiant threat to join a convent if her father wanted to make a decision over her head.

Although it always seemed like there was only Alex in the world for her, Ariel felt close to all her brothers for a variety of reasons - even though she never really showed it (or was able to show it, emotions are not her strength and emotional control is very important for sorceresses). She never really had a real relationship with her stepmother and half-sister and only Lorelei ever truly got close to a sister or friend. A kind of surrogate mother in Ariel's heart in her childhood and early teens was Dorothy, Arik's mother. 


	11. Sev

**name:**  
Severio Caesarion  
alias: Severio fil-Vibius

 **date of birth:  
** 6th of Spider-Month (September)

 **titles:**  
Prince of the Sacred Empire; Son of the Highest Father; Mars-over-the-Sea; Deputy Vicegerent of Argynn

 **family:**  
Fabiano Caesar (father), Antonia (mother)  
Graziano, Tiziano (half-brothers); several dead half-brothers; a bunch of half-sisters  
Marcia, Aurelia (sisters-in-law)  
several nephews and nieces

According to the Empire's complicated slave laws, Cyril, as a pleasure slave, also belongs to Sev's family. In case of legal disputes Sev could enforce that Cyril is treated like an underage sister of him.

 **trade marks:**  
the mark of spirals and curlicues from shoulder up to the jaw

When Fabiano was crowned emperor, the priests prophesied him three sons. On the night when his wife came down with the third child, Severio was born by one of the many imperial concubines. Sev's luck was that his half-brother died before the order to kill Sev could be given. So the emperor had his three sons.

Even though the children of an official concubine were always legitimate children, they made Sev feel that he should have died and was just a bastard in his father's eyes. Outwardly, however, he was a shining prince with all the privileges and comforts, just like his brothers. Since all this was a great burden to him, he decided, when he learned of the vague plans for the conquest of the Eastern Kingdoms, to take the military path and prove to his father abroad what he was worth. 

Officially, Sev was allowed to enter the visitors' area of the harem only under supervision of the eunuchs in order to talk to his mother. But since he got on well with Graziano, he took him with him into the holy halls. But the love he had for his younger brother wasn't enough to explain the who-is-who to him, so Sev probably had his first experiences with several of his half-sisters.

At sixteen Sev set off for Argynn, the small imperial trading colony in the Eastern Kingdoms. There he continued his education and made every effort to let the colony grow. Together with Vibius he travelled several times to Crown's Port to renegotiate the rights granted to them.   
When Sev reached the age of majority (25 in the Empire), the preparations for the war of conquest began. Thanks to the Empire's 'live and let live' policy in combination with a certain basic ignorance, Sev and his commanders don't know as much about the future provinces as they should. But no one would ever have disobeyed the imperial order to send out only trained spies. 

One of these trained spies was Mario, with whom Sev had a romantic relationship in his youth, which later became a purely sexual affair but never became less intense. 


	12. Ari

**name:**  
Arianna Taylor

 **date of birth:**  
14th of Fish-Month (April)

 **titles:**  
Golden Knife; Councilor of the Rogue Guild

 **family:**  
Aron, Irene (parents)  
Harold, Ingrid (grandparents motherly side)  
Donald (foster-father)

 **trade marks:**  
faint scent of "rain on a hot summer day"

later: scar over her left cheek

Ari's mother Irene, daughter of an honourable tailoring family, fell head over heels in love with a rogue. When a child was born from the forbidden liason, it was claimed that Irene had been raped. Born under the bell ringing of the young king's wedding, Ari was named after the queen _Arianna_.  
The claim of rape, however, went round in unexpected circles even years later, so that one night strangers broke into the family home - nobody knows exactly what happened, but Irene was clearly stabbed, while the intruders were clearly torn apart by magic. Five-year-old Ari turned out to be an air sorceress and was sent to the Hall of Stone - far away from the scene of the incident and traumatic memories.

Five years later Ari received a letter from a Donald to inform her that her father had died (betrayed and hanged in the course of an internal guild intrigue, but Ari only found out many years later). On foot the girl set off from the edge of the Ionian Mountains back to Feather Springs. There she had to find out that the accusation of her grandparents many years before had only found satisfactory rest when they were murdered.   
Don, who had once already trained Ari's father Aron, took Ari in. That's how she also met Tom and Vincent, because the two half-brothers were raised by Don's childless sister and her husband.

Thus, as a sorceress, Ari grew up to be a valuable member of the rogues' guild, skillful and intuitive with both magic and weapons. 

Ari has always been attracted to the royal family - be it because of her birthday, her name or the connection in magic with Princess Ariel. When King Steven ordered the rogues to keep an eye on his bastard son Christian, who had just become a squire, and to keep him out of trouble, Ari was the first one to volunteer for it- which caused some trouble, because she had to report to the King, who rumored to have a keen sense of magic and Guild Master Barry wanted to keep Ari's abilities a secret.   
Although Ari "watched" over Christian for ten years, the day she decided to go to the City by the Lake was the first time she actually interacted actively with the bastard. 

While Whitehill and Threehills were at war with each other with no end in sight, in Feather Springs a war of its own was brewing. In the intrigue that involved the Rogue Guild, the City Guard, and at least one other guild, Guild Master Barry and four of his eight council members were killed. When Cullen took over the guild leadership, he executed another council member and filled the empty seats with those loyal to the guild and to him: Ari, Tom and Vincent were thus given their council seats.   
  
After the small war within the city had almost cost Hannah and Tom their lives, Ari, Tom, Vincent, Hannah and her half-brother Thoralf moved into a shared apartment to be able to take better care of each other.   
Although Ari definitely prefers men, that doesn't stop her from sharing the bed with Hannah every now and then. And despite the fact that Ari and Tom grew up almost like a real family, it didn't stop them from sharing their first experiences as teenagers; later on, however, there is nothing but fraternal affection and deepest friendship between them. 


	13. Sammy

**name:**  
Samson (Blackwood-)Appleberry

**date of birth:**  
18th of End-Month (December)

**titles:**  
Prince of Whitehill

**family:**  
Samson and Romy (parents)  
Gerald and Sylvia (grandparents); Ruby and Antonidas (grandparents)  
Valerie, Richard, Matthew (siblings), Roseanne (twinsister)  
Ginevra and Gavin (aunt, uncle); Sarah-Jane and Trent (aunt, uncle); Gordon and Margareth (uncle, aunt); Ruben (uncle); Jocelyn and Erik (aunt, uncle); Lyandra, Elisabeth, Theresa (aunts)  
Garett, Jonathan, Emily, Emmett, Marida (cousins)  
Franz (brother-in-law), Arianna, Hannah (sisters-in-law)  
Alexander (nephew); Florence, Violette, Morrigan (nieces)

Tanja (companion)

**trade marks:**   
scent of apples (like every Appleberry)  
  


As the youngest child Sammy always had a lot of freedom, which he always enjoyed, despite all the little sanctions. Accordingly, it was almost a shock when he had to move to Balius' palace shortly before his eleventh birthday, where he had practically only Valerie and Franz as his permanent social contacts besides the unsteady Ruben, with whom he always had a close relationship. Valerie outgrew the childlike affection between the siblings fast and between Sammy and Franz, where there was simply antipathy. 

When, just in time for Sammy's 12th birthday, Master Victor showed up to take him to the fortress, it was a bitter development for him. For despite the rough manner of the witchers, their ranks are still governed by strict rules, and freedom-loving Sammy quickly felt trapped. And left alone, because he was forbidden to see his family regularly and he was unable to establish a positive relationship with his companion Tanja. The fact that Ruben died shortly after he joined the order didn't make things any better. 

On the other hand, his relationship with Rick improved - albeit rather by chance. When Rick cursed, Sammy rebuked him without realizing that Rick had used dragon language. Sammy cannot consciously use this language skill, he can only react, but since then Rick has called him "little dragon".   
He is rather critical of the break between his family and Matt, although his last meeting with Matt during the tournament was not necessarily harmonious either. While Matt "suffers" from being the only _normal_ one in the family, Sammy would like to be normal, because he is everything and nothing for real: a little bit of a witch, a little bit of a knight, a little bit of a dragon.

In fact, Sammy would have no problem looking for Princess Fiora and her companion - but only _after_ the final rituals of his training.


	14. Edwin

**name:  
** Edwin Mullen née Brick

 **date of birth:**  
4th of Fish-Month (April)

 **titles:**  
Knight of Threehills; Knight of the Dragon Order; Lay Priest

 **family:**  
Robert, Elisabeth (parents)  
Edward, Kalleigh (maternal grandparents)  
Erik (brother)  
Evelynn (sister)  
Donald (brother-in-law)  
Daisy, Erik (niece, nephew)  
Mirabelle Josephine Elaine (wife)

**trade marks:**  
prayer book  
enchanted pouch with two vials  
dark-red ring on a necklace

As the third child of the stonemason Elizabeth and the knight Robert, Edwin would have had a free choice for his future - he was aware very early on that he wanted to become a priest - but circumstances saw it differently. First of all, his parents had reservations about giving the boy into the monastery at the age of seven, as they considered themselves not to be overly religious. Though they promised him that he would be allowed to join the priesthood if his wish was still valid in seven more years.

Robert, who had lost an arm in service, set his own wishes on his elder son Erik, who felt comfortable as a knight and stood up for his little brother. When Erik died a few months after his knighthood, Robert's heart was broken. Edwin made a promise to his dying father to become a knight himself and soon regretted both this promise and his honesty in this regard. The barracks were definitely not the place he wanted to be.  
After a few weeks he already made plans to be thrown out due to incompetence in the first exams, but Prince Garett of all people took pity on his comrade - Edwin found a friend and unintentionally remained a squire, now at least with the wish to become a knight of the church.

But even this wish burst into dust when Edwin just before his eighteenth birthday suddenly found himself engaged - to Mirabelle Mullen, the youngest daughter of his lord and friend of his sister Evelynn. Any protest was futile and two days after his twenty-first birthday he was already a married man. 

Immediately after the joint knighthood, Garett offered Edwin a place in his Prince's Guard, which Edwin only accepted because Garett said he would trust him absolutely.   
Edwin also joined the Dragon Order only because Garett asked him to - he himself could have done without returning to his homeland. But he helped to build the castle and took care of magical creatures going wild.

The proximity to his (in-law) family had the unpleasant disadvantage of now having to seriously pretend to be happy, because at least Mira was deeply in love. The sweet facade was only soiled by childlessness - which was mainly due to the fact that (if they ever slept in the same room) absolutely nothing happened in the marriage bed except the wedding night. Accordingly, it was not too much of a tragedy for Edwin that Mira after a little more than four years of marriage suddenly disappeared without a trace on a trip to relatives.


End file.
